At the present time, except for certain live-holding neck and body snares that are very brutal, the only practical traps in use for taking and live-holding major predators, such as coyotes, bobcats and fox, with any degree of consistency are the various versions of what is commonly known as the steel-jawed leghold trap. Traps of this type all have one common characteristic, that is the foot or leg of the animal is caught and gripped between two rigid, parallel steel bars that are held clamped by very powerful springs. When the trap is sprung, the steel jaws strike with great force, causing considerable trauma to the foot or leg which has been caught. The jaws close with such great force that it is not unusual for them to break the animal's foot or leg bones. As the animal fights to free itself, these jaws tend to cut in even deeper, often penetrating to the bone. The foot may become swollen and bloody and sometimes the trap jaws cut off substantially all blood flow, so that in extremely cold weather the foot may freeze.
The so-called Victor Softcatch is a trap designed to eliminate some of this suffering. It is a conventional, coil-spring loaded, steel-jawed trap that has rubber padding added to the jaws. The trap reduces some of the initial trauma and subsequent injury or damage, but an animal held for 12 to 24 hours often will display much of the same swelling and other damage caused by traps without padding.